How Play Shapes Your Baby’s Brain For a baby, playing is not a break from learning. It is the learning. From the earliest weeks, a baby’s favourite plaything is your face. She watches your eyes and mouth, works out what a smile means, and begins to copy what she sees. Clap her hands together while…
Family Holidays With a Baby Holidays look different once there’s a baby in the mix, and the planning that goes into them looks different too. Start with accommodation. Places that describe themselves as family friendly usually already have a cot, a highchair and a few toys waiting for you, which means less to pack. Climate…
What Your Baby Has Been Building This Term The summer term covers a lot of ground. Over the past twelve weeks you have explored everything from language and visual development to milestones, music, social skills, and food. Each week has added something to the picture of how your baby is developing – and how you,…
This article on Outdoor Play was based on our insight written for Baby College by Nina Politimou, Senior Teaching Fellow at UCL, Institute of Education and an Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck, Department of Psychological Sciences. Eight Reasons to Get Outside With Your Baby or Toddler Getting outside with a baby or toddler takes effort. By…
What makes the best baby class? Five things worth looking for Search for “best baby class” and you’ll find no shortage of results. Sensory play, baby yoga, music groups, messy play, rhyme time – the options have never been more varied, which is brilliant in principle and slightly overwhelming in practice. But here’s the thing.…
A study published in Child Development in 2026 found that by 18 months, toddlers engage more deeply with adults whose emotional reactions have been consistent. They were already tracking who to trust. It turns out that social intelligence does not suddenly appear. It builds, quietly and steadily, from the very first days of life. It…
Singing to babies is one of the oldest things humans do. New research is starting to explain exactly why it works so well, and the answer goes deeper than most parents expect. It starts before birth Your baby’s hearing is functional from around 20 weeks in the womb. By the time they are born, they…
If you have ever worried that your baby is not hitting baby development milestones at the right time, you are not alone. It is one of the questions parents ask most in class. The answer is almost always more reassuring than the charts suggest. What a milestone age actually tells you The ages on milestone…
If you are looking for baby development activities that are fun, easy, and genuinely good for your child, this one covers all three. It does not require any equipment, costs nothing, and you are probably already doing it without realising how much it matters. We are talking about movement. Specifically, the kind of movement that…
When we talk about building resilience in children, we tend to imagine it as something we teach later, once they are at school and facing bigger challenges. But the foundations are laid much earlier than most people realise. And the single most important ingredient is something you are already providing. What resilience actually means Resilience…
Teething is one of those parenting milestones that comes loaded with advice, old wives’ tales, and a fair amount of anxiety. The truth is a lot simpler than the myths suggest. And understanding what is actually happening can make the whole process feel a great deal less daunting. What is teething, exactly? Your baby’s teeth…
You have probably found yourself leaning in close to your baby’s face, wondering whether they can actually see you. The answer is yes, but perhaps not in the way you might expect. Baby vision develops gradually over the first year of life, and understanding what your baby can and cannot see at each stage is…
How Your Baby Learns to Talk Before They Say a Single Word Introduction Long before your baby says their first word, their brain is already doing extraordinary work. Every time you chat to them during a nappy change, sing a song at bedtime, or simply narrate what you are doing around the house, you are…
That moment when your newborn wraps their tiny fingers around yours is one of the most powerful first experiences of parenthood. It feels like connection. And actually, it is also neuroscience. Your baby is born with a set of primitive reflexes, automatic responses built into the nervous system before birth. They are not random. Every…
Are babies born or made? New research has the answer Scientists at Stanford University have just shed new light on one of parenting’s oldest questions: how much of who your baby becomes is down to their genes, and how much is down to you? Their answer, published earlier this year, is both hopeful and fascinating.…
Most parents come home from hospital with a beautiful, baffling baby and very little idea of what is actually going on inside that tiny head. That is completely normal. And it turns out, understanding your baby is one of the most powerful things you can do for their development. Research published this year confirms that…
Easter is a wonderful time to slow down, enjoy time together and explore playful activities with your baby or toddler. For little ones, celebrations like Easter are not really about chocolate or presents. They are about new experiences, colours, sounds and shared moments with family. Simple Easter themed activities can support your baby’s development while…
🚽👶 If you spend time in parenting groups or on social media, you may have come across something called Elimination Communication (EC). Some parents say their baby has been “potty trained” from birth. Others suggest nappies are unnecessary. So what exactly is elimination communication and is it something parents need to worry about? Let’s take…
Have you ever wondered what is happening inside your baby’s brain as they grow and learn? In the early years, brain development happens at an astonishing pace. In fact, babies form up to one million new neural connections every second as they experience the world around them. One helpful way to imagine this incredible process…
From the moment a baby is born, touch plays a powerful role in helping them feel safe, calm and connected. In fact, touch is one of the first senses to develop and remains one of the most important ways babies communicate and learn about the world. The skin is also the largest organ in the…
Have you ever wished you could know exactly what your baby is thinking? Long before first words appear, babies are desperate to communicate. They want to share excitement, request help, label what they see and connect with you. Baby signing offers a gentle, research-informed way to bridge that gap between wanting to communicate and being…
If you’ve ever typed “why won’t my baby sleep?” into Google at 3am, you are very much not alone. Sleep is one of the most common concerns we hear about in Baby College classes. It can feel relentless, emotional and sometimes isolating. Yet when we look at the science of infant sleep, much of what…
From bubbles drifting through the air to splashing in puddles, sensory play is how babies begin to understand the world around them. In the earliest years of life, learning is not worksheet-based or screen-led. It is sensory. Babies explore through touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. These sensory systems form the foundation of brain development,…
Understanding Toddler Behaviour: How Schemas Explain What Your Child Is Really Doing If you’ve ever wondered why your toddler keeps throwing things, lining toys up, tipping everything out, or repeating the same action again and again, you’re not alone. For many parents, understanding toddler behaviour can feel confusing – especially when those behaviours are messy,…
When we think about babies learning to move, we often picture rolling, crawling and those magical first steps. But underneath all of that visible movement is a hidden sensory system doing a huge amount of work – the vestibular system. So what is it, and why does it matter so much in the first year…
🌱 Learning Play: How Play Builds Confident, Curious and Capable Little Learners When we talk about learning in babyhood, it is easy to picture flashcards or structured activities. In reality, babies learn best through play that allows them to explore, experiment and try things for themselves. At Baby College, we call this Learning Play. It…
The Power of Finger and Toe Songs: A Simple Way to Build Your Baby’s Focus 🧠🎶 If your baby seems to flit from one thing to another, you are not alone. Short bursts of attention are completely normal in the first year of life. In fact, babies are designed to learn in moments, not minutes.…
What Are Primitive Reflexes – and Why Do They Matter for Your Baby’s Development? From the moment they are born, babies come equipped with a remarkable set of built-in responses known as primitive reflexes. These reflexes are automatic movements controlled by the brainstem and are essential for survival in the earliest months of life. You…
Make Friends at Baby College: Why Early Social Experiences Matter One of the loveliest parts of coming to Baby College is watching friendships begin. Not just for parents, but for babies too. While babies are not yet sharing toys or playing together in the way older children do, they are already learning essential social skills.…
New Year, New Term: Why Tummy Time Matters More Than You Think As we begin a fresh new term at Baby College, we are starting with one of the most important foundations of early development: tummy time. It may look simple, but tummy time plays a powerful role in helping babies grow strong, confident and…